Tag: Trump

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence on Monday defended President Donald Trump over his recent comments disparaging immigration from Africa and Haiti, telling The Associated Press that the president's "heart" is aimed at a merit-based system that is blind to immigrants' "race or creed." Pence, in an interview with the AP from Jerusalem, said the president was intent on implementing a merit-based system that encourages immigration by those who will "contribute to a growing American economy and thriving communities." "I know the president's heart and I know that what President Trump wants to do is reform immigration to make our system one that puts the interests of America first," Pence said. He added that immigrants should be considered on their merits, "regardless of what country they come from...

Donald Trump took his place in the White House exactly one year ago. Since then he has repeatedly claimed to be behind a new rise in the American economy. Here, six charts explore his relationship with US growth, the labour market and trade.1. The American economy is growingDonald Trump has spoken of his desire to turbo-charge the US economy to a growth rate of as high as 6%.The latest figures, released by the US Department of Commerce in December, show that it grew at an annual rate of 3.2% in the third quarter of 2017. However, after the US central bank, the Federal Reserve, raised interest rates for the third time in 2017 in December, it is possible growth will slow in the coming months.2. US stocks have had a record runThe Dow Jones Industrial Average - which follows the shares of 30 m...

Next week thousands of the world’s richest and most powerful players will gather in the tiny Swiss town of Davos. Each year the town high in the Alps hosts the World Economic Forum, attended by global political and business leaders, philanthropists, celebrities and media. It is a gathering epitomizing and promoting the global elite that President Trump has railed against throughout his presidency so far. So it took the world by surprise when Mr Trump announced he would be attending the summit this year. The message for the 2018 forum is “Creating a Shared Future in a Fractured World” and strong calls for global cooperation are likely to be focused on issues such as climate change and global instability. Who is going? A record 70 heads of state or government are said to be participatin

A controversial US law which allows warrantless internet surveillance is set to be reauthorised by Donald Trump.On Thursday, the US Senate passed a bill to renew Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) which allows American authorities to conduct mass surveillance on foreign targets on US soil.It now needs to be signed off by the President, who initially suggested he would oppose it on Twitter before quickly retracting his stance in what critics described as a "humiliating backpedal".When the bill was before the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the US legislature, Mr Trump tweeted: "This is the act that may have been used, with the help of the discredited and phony dossier, to so badly surveil and abuse the Trump Campaign by the previous administration...

Media playback is unsupported on your devicePresident Donald Trump has denied that he is racist, after a row broke out over his alleged use of the word "shithole" to describe African nations.Mr Trump reportedly used the term last week during a bipartisan Oval Office meeting on immigration reform.He has now told reporters: "I am not a racist. I'm the least racist person you have ever interviewed."It is the first time the president has responded directly to the racism accusations.He made the denial to White House press pool reporters at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach in Florida on Sunday night.What did the president allegedly say?The row broke out after lawmakers from both parties visited the president on Thursday to work on a proposal for a bipartisan immigration deal....